Team India play South Africa in 1st T20I at Dharamshala. (Photo: Twitter)

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BowlingAfter a fabulous series in West Indies, the Men in Blue led by Virat Kohli are set to kick off their home season when they face the visiting South African side in the first match of the T20 series at HPCA stadium in Dharamshala on Sunday.

Keeping in mind the upcoming 2020 T20I World Cup in Australia team India has once again added youngsters in the side to identify core players for the mega event. The no 4 position in the side will also be up for grabs with Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Manish Pandey all eyeing to make the spot of their own.

But before that we look at the ideal Indian XI for the first match.

Opening position: Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma has made the opener's position of his own in the white-ball format. In the ICC World Cup scoring five centuries and in such devastating form it's a no brainer that he is a sure-fire starter. Shikhar Dhawan is returning from the injury will be looking to get back in form in the series. KL Rahul who is the reserve opener in the side will battle for the second opener slot in the eleven.

Virat Kohli, as usual, will occupy the number 3 position and will have the responsibility of scoring maximum runs along with Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. Shreyas Iyer who performed well in the West Indies series might regain his spot in the playing XI and play at number 4 spot. Rishabh Pant and Pandya brothers Hardik and Krunal will play as floaters and their batting position will be switched according to the situation.

The pace attack will be in hands of the inexperienced duo of Khaleel Ahmed and Deepak Chahar. Navdeep Saini with his pace might also be in contention but the above-mentioned players might get the nod initially. Ravindra Jadeja will lead the spin attack with the likes of Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar supporting him. Leg spinner Rahul Chahar too could be in contention after his performance in West Indies.